CoSearch 2016 research competition challenges Texas State faculty

Texas State University faculty members from a wide array of disciplines will participate in CoSearch competition September 16-17 at STAR Park.

The 2016 CoSearch Weekend, an intensive pitch competition, is designed to bring researchers, visionaries, advocates and artists together to address pressing societal problems via new and never-before-considered cross-disciplinary approaches.

Over the two-day event, participants debate and identify persistent social, economic and even political problems, then form teams from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to develop a plan of research on their chosen issues. The teams shape their research proposals and then pitch their research projects to a panel of judges.

In 2015, a team focused on training nurses to better communicate with doctors to reduce patient errors won the CoSearch prize, which includes a cash grant to catalyze the winning team’s research project. Early proposals for 2016 include the examination of links between teacher quality and student outcomes, the effects of social media on mental health and the effectiveness of conveying warnings to the public through social media during crises.

The 2016 CoSearch competition will be facilitated by Greg Tehven, a curator with TEDx and workshop leader who has organized more than 300 events worldwide. The awards ceremony is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., Saturday, September 17 in the Texas State Performing Arts Center with San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero serving as the event’s keynote speaker.

About CoSearch

CoSearch is a one-of-a-kind research challenge designed to provide researchers and artists an opportunity to collaborate and form research teams. The unique mix of talent and facilitation allows participants to approach problems with wholly new perspectives to create breakthrough ideas to intractable societal problems. CoSearch is sponsored by Texas State University, the College of Fine Arts and Communication and Hahn Public Communications.